The gaming world is not shy to acquisitions and buyouts, as companies are purchased for millions and billions of dollars every year. Microsoft may have just made the largest purchase in video game history by acquiring Activision Blizzard for an absolutely massive amount.
Microsoft acquires Activision Blizzard and gains several game franchises
Just recently, we got wind that Take-Two made the largest purchase in video game history by buying Zynga for just over $12 billion. But, that’s chump change compared to how much Microsoft paid for Activision Blizzard. It bought the company for $95.00 per share, and the total tips the scale at $68.7 billion. Needless to say, that’s a hefty sum, and definitely put a dent in Microsoft’s bank account.
However, this venture is meant to have a financial gain for the company. With this purchase, based on the report, Microsoft will be the third-highest gaming company in terms of revenue right behind Tencent and Sony. Even though Microsoft is a big company in and of itself, it doesn’t actually bring in much money from its gaming ventures. It often operates at a loss, but the company doesn’t care because it makes so much money elsewhere.
What will Microsoft gain from this?
Since Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard, it’s going to gain the franchises that these companies produced. When you see the companies and their franchises, the $68.7 billion price tag will make sense. Microsoft is going to gain Activision’s Call of Duty franchise, which is one of the biggest FPS franchises out there. Next, it’s getting big Blizzard titles like World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo, and Starcraft. Last, but not least, Microsoft is also getting the mega mobile game, Candy Crush. Regardless of this acquisition, Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard.
What else is new?
The acquisition won’t only Benefit Microsoft. Because the company bought the rights to these games, it’s going to be putting them (we’re not sure just how many, however) on Game Pass. Right now, the report points to the company’s plans to put the games on Game Pass. This means that we might not see Activision Blizzard games on there too soon. Since Activision Blizzard games have about 400 million active players every month, Microsoft believes that this move will increase the amount of Game Pass subscribers.
2022-01-18 15:04:18